What are the best IHG One Rewards hotels at London Heathrow airport?

IHG is not short of hotel options at Heathrow airport which is good news for anyone looking to boost their IHG One Rewards points, redeem their points for a free room or benefit from their elite status.

There is even a dedicated IHG website for its Heathrow properties which you can find here.

But which hotel is best for you?

IHG has been on a roll at Heathrow over the last five years.  On Bath Road, just outside Terminals 2/3, there is a new Staybridge Suites (website here, review here) and Holiday Inn (website here, review here) sharing a building, pictured above.

Over at Terminal 4, directly connected to the terminal, there is a Crowne Plaza (website here, review here) and a Holiday Inn Express (website here, review here) also sharing the same building and public spaces.

IHG has seven hotels in and around Heathrow airport of which five are currently open.

Note that the Holiday Inn Heathrow Terminal 5 has left the chain. It has recently been acquired by B&B Hotels.

Best overall IHG hotel at Heathrow

The new Crowne Plaza London Heathrow at Terminal 4 is, in my view, the clear winner here.  It is a very classy operation, with the benefit of being directly connected to the terminal.  We reviewed the Crowne Plaza London Heathrow T4 here and a photo of my room is below – I also found the restaurant to be excellent.  The hotel site is here. 

That said, the new Staybridge Suites and Holiday Inn on Bath Road (reviewed here and here) are not far behind and you would be perfectly happy at those too. The only downside is having to take a bus to get there, albeit the journey is under five minutes from the Central Bus Station.

Best budget IHG hotel at Heathrow 

The new Holiday Inn Express at Terminal 4 gets my vote.  What more could you want?   It is directly connected to the terminal, is brand new and you get free breakfast.  As an added perk you can cross-charge the bar and formal restaurant in the Crowne Plaza to your room if you don’t want to skimp all the way.

We reviewed the Holiday Inn Express Heathrow T4 here.  The hotel site is here.  This is a photo I took of a room:

Cheapest IHG hotel at Heathrow

Sadly, during the pandemic, the Holiday Inn London Heathrow Ariel left the chain. It is now a Best Western as you can see here.

The photo below shows it in its original 1961 glory.  I can remember when single bedded rooms at the Ariel were available for £29. It is currently being used for asylum seekers, I believe, but rooms are bookable from May from £100.

For a cheap IHG option with free breakfast, try the Holiday Inn Express London Heathrow T5 which is not, note, in T5 or walkable from it.  Whilst I have never been, a friend is very positive about this hotel, praising its ease of access from the M4, the excellent sound insulation and the ability to grab a snack from the M&S Simply Food in the petrol station across the road. Rooms can be under £75 per night.

Best hotel for longer stays or ‘at home’ facilities

Let’s be honest, I’m not sure why you’d want to have a long stay at any Heathrow hotel.  However, the new Staybridge Suites London Heathrow Bath Road looks like the best option if you do need to stick around. 

All rooms here include a fully equipped kitchen.  As an added bonus, all guests get free breakfast too.

Best IHG hotel at Heathrow for families

If you don’t want to take two connecting rooms, there are a few options:

• the new Holiday Inn Express London Heathrow T4 is the best value family option, especially as breakfast is free and it is connected to terminal.  You can get rooms with a double bed and a double sofa bed.

• the Holiday Inn London Heathrow M4 J4 also has rooms with a double sofa bed which sleep four, albeit the hotel remains closed to the public for now

• for higher spenders, the suites at the new Crowne Plaza London Heathrow T4 sleep four people and come with Club Lounge access which means free lounge breakfast

• if you want a kitchen unit to prepare your own food for your family, the obvious (and only) option is the new Staybridge Suites on Bath Road, where the cheap one bedroom suites have a sofa bed in the living room.  Staybridge Suites hotels provide free breakfast.

• the Crowne Plaza London Heathrow has rooms with two double beds, which means you don’t need to compromise with a sofa bed.  This hotel is currently closed (see next entry).

Best IHG hotel for leisure facilities

If you’re looking for an excellent swimming complex, I recommend the Crowne Plaza London Heathrow which is on the north side of the M4.  I stayed here a few years ago and my kids loved the huge pool complex, pictured above.

I wrote this article on the best hotel swimming pools at Heathrow and the Crowne Plaza was the winner.  There is also a sauna, jacuzzi and a good gym.  Unfortunately, the long promised refurbishment of the rooms has not yet taken place.

Note that this hotel is currently closed to the public. It has reportedly been taken over by the Home Office.

Best IHG hotel if you want a funky lobby!

To be honest, the Holiday Inn London Heathrow M4 J4 does not get much enthusiasm from people I know and I was struggling for something positive to write about it.

However, it did spend a lot of money on a new lobby and restaurant just before the pandemic, with the old Irish pub been transformed into ‘Terminal 6’. This is reportedly a surprisingly classy bar.

Note that this hotel is currently closed to the public and I believe it being used by the Home Office.

Conclusion

There are seven IHG hotels at Heathrow airport, although only five are currently open to the public. The good news is that four of the five are effectively new and, having been to all of them, they are all recommended.

To be honest, I would be tempted to add the Hotel Indigo just outside Paddington Station to your shortlist.  You get the benefit of spending time in the city centre and, if you time it right, you should be able to get from the hotel to the airport within 30 minutes via Heathrow Express or the Elizabeth Line. Recent feedback has not been too impressive though, so do your research.

You can learn more about IHG One Rewards in our overview article here.

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IHG One Rewards update – April 2024:

Get bonus points: IHG One Rewards is offering 2,000 bonus points for every two cash nights you stay (not necessarily consecutive) between 1st April and 31st May 2024. You can read our full article here and you can register here.

New to IHG One Rewards?  Read our overview of IHG One Rewards here and our article on points expiry rules here. Our article on ‘What are IHG One Rewards points worth?’ is here.

Buy points: If you need additional IHG One Rewards points, you can buy them here.

Want to earn more hotel points?  Click here to see our complete list of promotions from IHG and the other major hotel chains or use the ‘Hotel Offers’ link in the menu bar at the top of the page.